1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and more specifically to methods and arrangements that can be employed in computer telephony systems to graphically depict incoming and outgoing calls as they occur, preferably in a manner that allows a user and/or an operator to better monitor and control the calls.
2. Description of Related Art
Computer telephony systems are becoming increasingly popular because they provide specific services, which in the past would have been cost prohibitive if provided by traditional telephone systems. Essentially, a computer telephony system includes technologies that actively integrate computers and like devices to function as would a traditional telephone system and/or private branch exchange (PBX), but only on a smaller scale and/or at a significantly lower cost. While a computer telephony system can be a stand alone communication system, for example within a home or small business environment, it is more likely to also be connected to existing telecommunications systems, such as a public switched telephone network (PTSN), and/or other data networks, such as a local area network (LAN). As such, most computer telephony systems are configured to provide users with several communication related features. Indeed, the inherent flexibility of a programmable computer telephony system allows for specialized and/or customized communication features to be provided, often with only a modest attendant increase in cost.
Of particular interest within computer telephony systems is the increased demand from users to integrate new and different types of devices and the need to support the portability of these devices. The increase in demand for mobile cellular radio telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, e-mail services, and facsimile services are prime examples of the changing requirements that users present, even in a small home and/or small business environment.
The resources available within a computer telephony system are uniquely positioned to meet the future needs of these service-rich users. To support these and other types of needs, however, there is a need to understand how the computer telephony system's resources are being utilized. This not only assists in determining where problems or potential problems might be occurring, but also allows for a more complete understanding of the users and their needs and how to best address them. Thus, at the simplest level, it is important to know how, for example, a call is being placed and handled within the operating environment of the computer telephony system.
In larger more complicated telephone or PBX environments obtaining such information and monitoring/controlling the operation of the overall system can be very complicated. As such, these tasks are typically left to automated programs, experienced operators and maintenance personnel. For example, monitoring and controlling functions are typically provided through one or more applications running on one or more computers within the telephone or PBX system. Indeed, a significantly large portion of the computing resources within such a system can be devoted to, or are otherwise involved with, monitoring, logging and reporting call activity.
The information presented by such call activity applications tends, however, to be limited in scope due in part to the high level of traffic. Thus, information that may be important can become lost or otherwise made substantially difficult to extract and analyze, especially on a real time basis. For example, information about an incoming or outgoing call and the resources employed is typically not easily accessible to an operator, and the information that is available are typically not easily understood by less skilled operators. Moreover, seldom would such information have been made available to the system's users.
Even in relatively smaller communication environments, such as a PBX environment, it is often difficult to track the incoming and outgoing calls on a real-time basis or to monitor the various features, such as voice mailbox access. Indeed, in most typical systems the existence of a telephone call often require that an inference be made based on the reported states of the switching devices making or receiving the call. Thus, to an operator, the call itself is, at best, only indirectly represented during its lifetime. More detailed analysis is typically performed through the subsequent processing of collected data within the systems reports and logs. For example, data that describes the source and destination parties is typically post processed to determine the call's duration and associated cost.
As can be appreciated, in order to support current and future needs in a smaller scale, feature-rich computer telephony system, there is a need for improved methods and arrangements that allow for dynamic, real-time monitoring and analysis of a call or calls. Preferably, the improved methods and arrangements will provide increased information about the call and present the information to an operator and/or users through a user-friendly interface that allows for a quick determination of the participants engaged in the call and the resources being utilized. Furthermore, there is a need for improved methods and arrangements that provide additional control over the various resources or features within the computer telephony system.